Welcome to the Hog Blog, a blog chronicling minor-league baseball in the Lehigh Valley. Tom Housenick, The Morning Call's IronPigs beat writer, has been at The Morning Call since 2008. In a previous lifetime, he was at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic talking with future Phillies Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, among many others.
He’ll now be spending his summers in search of who the Phillies are hoping to be the next Chase Utley and Cole Hamels plus any outfielder who catch and hit. What he really hopes to find are the next Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Jim Thome --- great human beings who happened to be great at this sport.
He spent the last five years covering Colonial League football, college basketball and high school track & field.

It's almost difficult to imagine this is the same team that couldn't get out of its own way in April.

The IonPigs have done a complete 180-degree turn from those days. The team that left Thursday afternoon for Louisville and Indianapolis is suddenly one that gets clutch hits from just about everyone up and down the lineup, plays near-flawless defense, runs the bases aggressively, and gets enough pitching to be competitive in every game it plays.

A lot of the credit for the turnaround has to go to Dave Huppert and his staff. Huppert refused to panic and time and time again professing his confidence that the players in his clubhouse were professionals and would eventually turn things around. I'm sure behind close doors he might have a few things to say, and I'm sure he passed some of his opinions on to his bosses, especially Phillies minor league director Steve Noworyta. But never did those things come out in the open, and his players reponded.

Noworyta and the Phillies' brass deserves pats on the back too. Throughout April Noworyta kept professing his faith in the players the Phillies had brought in, and maintained overhauling the roster was simply not an option, in part becauise the Phillies refuse to rush the young talent through the system, and also because finding replacements for the players he already had would be a duanting task. yet while the roster wasn't overhauld in numbers, it was in style. Valentino Pascucci may have been a scapegoat for the rocky start, but it was pretty apparent he wasn't gong to be able to adjust to playing in the Internaitonal League after all those years of success in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. So he was jettisoned in place of Rich Thompson, a move that improved the club's athleticism defensively and on the basepaths. And they found Jon Knott wasting away in Rochester, and where would this team be without him the last three weeks?

When it was apparent Chris Woodward wasn't the answer in the infield, the Phillies claimed Oscar Robles off waivers and traded for Mike Rouse, and since their arrival the IronPigs have become one of the top-fielding infields in the league.

And when it was apparent Pete Laforest wasn't going to be happy as Jason Jaramillo's back-up behind the plate, he was sent packing, too.

Don't get the wrong impression. If the Phillies thought Pascucci, Woodward, or Laforest, might be able to help them on the big league level sometime this year, they'd still be here. that's what Triple-A baseball is all about, after all. But once the decision was made that they like wouldn't, Noworyta and the Phillies went out and found replacements for them that, along with the play of original IronPigs Mike Cerrvenak, Jason Jaramillo, Brennan King, Andy Tracy et. al, have made the IronPigs a competive team, and one much more enjoyable for the half-million plus fans that will fill Coca-Cola Park this summer to watch.

So as the IL season prepares to turn into its third month, I think it's safe to say that the IronPigs we'll be watching from here on out will be more like the team we've seen in May than the one we want to forget from April.

It's almost difficult to imagine this is the same team that couldn't get out of its own way in April.

The IonPigs have done a complete 180-degree turn from those days. The team that left Thursday afternoon for Louisville and Indianapolis is suddenly one that gets clutch hits from just about everyone up and down the lineup, plays near-flawless defense, runs the bases aggressively, and gets enough pitching to be competitive in every game it plays.

A lot of the credit for the turnaround has to go to Dave Huppert and his staff. Huppert refused to panic and time and time again professing his confidence that the players in his clubhouse were professionals and would eventually turn things around. I'm sure behind close doors he might have a few things to say, and I'm sure he passed some of his opinions on to his bosses, especially Phillies minor league director Steve Noworyta. But never did those things come out in the open, and his players reponded.

Noworyta and the Phillies' brass deserves pats on the back too. Throughout April Noworyta kept professing his faith in the players the Phillies had brought in, and maintained overhauling the roster was simply not an option, in part becauise the Phillies refuse to rush the young talent through the system, and also because finding replacements for the players he already had would be a duanting task. yet while the roster wasn't overhauld in numbers, it was in style. Valentino Pascucci may have been a scapegoat for the rocky start, but it was pretty apparent he wasn't gong to be able to adjust to playing in the Internaitonal League after all those years of success in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. So he was jettisoned in place of Rich Thompson, a move that improved the club's athleticism defensively and on the basepaths. And they found Jon Knott wasting away in Rochester, and where would this team be without him the last three weeks?

When it was apparent Chris Woodward wasn't the answer in the infield, the Phillies claimed Oscar Robles off waivers and traded for Mike Rouse, and since their arrival the IronPigs have become one of the top-fielding infields in the league.

And when it was apparent Pete Laforest wasn't going to be happy as Jason Jaramillo's back-up behind the plate, he was sent packing, too.

Don't get the wrong impression. If the Phillies thought Pascucci, Woodward, or Laforest, might be able to help them on the big league level sometime this year, they'd still be here. that's what Triple-A baseball is all about, after all. But once the decision was made that they like wouldn't, Noworyta and the Phillies went out and found replacements for them that, along with the play of original IronPigs Mike Cerrvenak, Jason Jaramillo, Brennan King, Andy Tracy et. al, have made the IronPigs a competive team, and one much more enjoyable for the half-million plus fans that will fill Coca-Cola Park this summer to watch.

So as the IL season prepares to turn into its third month, I think it's safe to say that the IronPigs we'll be watching from here on out will be more like the team we've seen in May than the one we want to forget from April.

Ron Chiavacci was one of the IronPigs few bright spots during those dismal early weeks of the season.

Since then, however, the season has been a disaster for the Scranton native.

After giving up 10 hits and six runs in four innings against Indianapolis Wednesday night, Chiavacci now has an 8.19 ERA over his last nine starts. He's lost six straight decisions, and with the Indians leading 6-3 after four innings is on the hook for his seventh.

Chiavacci had his best year as a starter last year, going 12-6 with a 3.39 ERA for Toledo. He signed with the Phillies over the winter, in part because he hoped if he showed that same form this year the Phillies might be prone to giving him his first major league opportunity.

That seemed possible, even maybe likely, when he allowed one run and 12 hits over his first 17 1/3 innings while picking up the first win in franchise history. But with his performance since an April 19 start in Syracuse he's probably fighting as much to keep his job as he is to fulfull his dream of reaching the majors.

---

"DigitalMariner" wondered if there was a list somewhere of the Philiies 40-man roster, and also that has the number of options left for Phillies minor league players.

The answer to the first question is, yes, the 40-man roster for any major league team can be found on its web site.

The answer to the second is, no -- not because it's a state secret or anything, it's just that it's somewhat difficult to follow.

Here's the explanation of options found on ESPN.com's web site...

"Options"After three years as a pro, a player must be protected on a team's 40-man roster, or he is eligible for the Rule 5 draft (more on that later). Once he's served those three years, and assuming he is added to the 40-man roster, his club then has what are called "options" on him.

When a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the 25-man Major League roster, he is on "optional assignment." One common misconception about the rules is that a player may only be "optioned out" three times. Actually, each player has three option years, and he can be sent up and down as many times as the club chooses within those three seasons.

When you hear that a player is "out of options," that means he's been on the 40-man roster during three different seasons, beginning with his fourth as a pro, and to be sent down again he'll have to clear waivers (which means every major league team would have to pass on him before he could be sent down).

In the case of Jon Knott, he was been called up three times in his career -- 2004 and 2006 with San Diego, and 2007 with Baltimore -- so he is out of options. If the Phillies were to call up Knott he would have to clear waivers to return to the IronPigs, which means any major league organization (in reverse order of their records) would be able to claim him.

Ron Chiavacci was one of the IronPigs few bright spots during those dismal early weeks of the season.

Since then, however, the season has been a disaster for the Scranton native.

After giving up 10 hits and six runs in four innings against Indianapolis Wednesday night, Chiavacci now has an 8.19 ERA over his last nine starts. He's lost six straight decisions, and with the Indians leading 6-3 after four innings is on the hook for his seventh.

Chiavacci had his best year as a starter last year, going 12-6 with a 3.39 ERA for Toledo. He signed with the Phillies over the winter, in part because he hoped if he showed that same form this year the Phillies might be prone to giving him his first major league opportunity.

That seemed possible, even maybe likely, when he allowed one run and 12 hits over his first 17 1/3 innings while picking up the first win in franchise history. But with his performance since an April 19 start in Syracuse he's probably fighting as much to keep his job as he is to fulfull his dream of reaching the majors.

---

"DigitalMariner" wondered if there was a list somewhere of the Philiies 40-man roster, and also that has the number of options left for Phillies minor league players.

The answer to the first question is, yes, the 40-man roster for any major league team can be found on its web site.

The answer to the second is, no -- not because it's a state secret or anything, it's just that it's somewhat difficult to follow.

Here's the explanation of options found on ESPN.com's web site...

"Options"After three years as a pro, a player must be protected on a team's 40-man roster, or he is eligible for the Rule 5 draft (more on that later). Once he's served those three years, and assuming he is added to the 40-man roster, his club then has what are called "options" on him.

When a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the 25-man Major League roster, he is on "optional assignment." One common misconception about the rules is that a player may only be "optioned out" three times. Actually, each player has three option years, and he can be sent up and down as many times as the club chooses within those three seasons.

When you hear that a player is "out of options," that means he's been on the 40-man roster during three different seasons, beginning with his fourth as a pro, and to be sent down again he'll have to clear waivers (which means every major league team would have to pass on him before he could be sent down).

In the case of Jon Knott, he was been called up three times in his career -- 2004 and 2006 with San Diego, and 2007 with Baltimore -- so he is out of options. If the Phillies were to call up Knott he would have to clear waivers to return to the IronPigs, which means any major league organization (in reverse order of their records) would be able to claim him.

For the second time this season T.J. Bohn is heading to the major leagues.

The Phillies recalled the IronPigs outfielder early Saturday morning after they placed outfielder Jason Werth on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique suffered in Thursday's win at Houston.

Bohn, who did not play in the IronPigs' 5-2 loss to Charlotte Friday at Coca-Cola Park, is hitting .162 with two homers and six RBIs in 32 games with the IronPigs. He is hitting .143 (8-for-56) since his return from the Phillies on April 26 following a nine-day stay with the Phillies to help fill in for injured outfielders Chris Snelling and Shane Victorino.

You might wonder why the Phillies reached down for Bohn instead of perhaps Jon Knott, who has much more impressive numbers since joining the organization in early May. It's simple -- Bohn is on the Phillies' 40-man roster and has an option for this year, which means he can go up and down between Philadelphia and Allentown as much as the Phillies need him to without having to be exposed to another organization through the waiver wire. Knott, I believe, would be subject to waivers when the Phillies would want to return him to the IronPigs.

Bohn will likely do little more with the Phillies than he did in his first stay with the team -- pinch hit occassionally and serve as a defensive replacement for Pat Burrell. In addition to his status as a member of the 40-man roster, his value is that he can play all three outfield positions.

Bohn was 1-for-3 in his previous stint with the Phillies, hitting a two-run double in a win at Colorado.

Werth, who was injured while running the bases, has started 21 games in center field and nine in right. He's hitting .260 and is fourth on the team in both home runs with nine and RBIs with 26.

There is no word on who will replace Bohn on the IronPigs roster but candidates include Javon Moran or Michael Spidale from Reading.

For the second time this season T.J. Bohn is heading to the major leagues.

The Phillies recalled the IronPigs outfielder early Saturday morning after they placed outfielder Jason Werth on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique suffered in Thursday's win at Houston.

Bohn, who did not play in the IronPigs' 5-2 loss to Charlotte Friday at Coca-Cola Park, is hitting .162 with two homers and six RBIs in 32 games with the IronPigs. He is hitting .143 (8-for-56) since his return from the Phillies on April 26 following a nine-day stay with the Phillies to help fill in for injured outfielders Chris Snelling and Shane Victorino.

You might wonder why the Phillies reached down for Bohn instead of perhaps Jon Knott, who has much more impressive numbers since joining the organization in early May. It's simple -- Bohn is on the Phillies' 40-man roster and has an option for this year, which means he can go up and down between Philadelphia and Allentown as much as the Phillies need him to without having to be exposed to another organization through the waiver wire. Knott, I believe, would be subject to waivers when the Phillies would want to return him to the IronPigs.

Bohn will likely do little more with the Phillies than he did in his first stay with the team -- pinch hit occassionally and serve as a defensive replacement for Pat Burrell. In addition to his status as a member of the 40-man roster, his value is that he can play all three outfield positions.

Bohn was 1-for-3 in his previous stint with the Phillies, hitting a two-run double in a win at Colorado.

Werth, who was injured while running the bases, has started 21 games in center field and nine in right. He's hitting .260 and is fourth on the team in both home runs with nine and RBIs with 26.

There is no word on who will replace Bohn on the IronPigs roster but candidates include Javon Moran or Michael Spidale from Reading.

For the third time in 11 days four proved to be an unattainable task for the IronPigs Friday night.

Their three-game losing streak ended with a 5-2 loss to Charlotte and Tomo Ohka, who came into the game with an 0-7 record and a 6-plus ERA. But he pitched more like the guy who hung around the major leagues for seven years and won 13 games for Montreal in 2002.

With the way the IronPigs have been playing lately it's almost a letdown when they don't take advantage of a match-up like this. But then again, Charlotte proably would've said the same thing about their match-up with Ron Chiavacci, who brought a 5.25 ERA into this outing and has struggled mightily since three impressive starts to open the season.

Chiavacci appeared to show some improvement against the Knights, giving up just six hits in six innings. But three of them were homers after he had given up just five in his first 48 innings.

Getting Chiavacci back on track could go a long way to maintaining the IronPigs recovery from their abysmal April. Brian Mazone, J.A. Happ and Les Walrond have been solid in the rotation, and the IronPigs are hoping Travis Blackley comes back from his injury and builds on the outing he had the day he was hurt (five innings, one hit).

But Dave Huppert has been around long enough to know the up-and-downs that a minor league team goes through.

"You usually don't have one-through-five going well at the same time anyway," the IronPigs manager said.

For the third time in 11 days four proved to be an unattainable task for the IronPigs Friday night.

Their three-game losing streak ended with a 5-2 loss to Charlotte and Tomo Ohka, who came into the game with an 0-7 record and a 6-plus ERA. But he pitched more like the guy who hung around the major leagues for seven years and won 13 games for Montreal in 2002.

With the way the IronPigs have been playing lately it's almost a letdown when they don't take advantage of a match-up like this. But then again, Charlotte proably would've said the same thing about their match-up with Ron Chiavacci, who brought a 5.25 ERA into this outing and has struggled mightily since three impressive starts to open the season.

Chiavacci appeared to show some improvement against the Knights, giving up just six hits in six innings. But three of them were homers after he had given up just five in his first 48 innings.

Getting Chiavacci back on track could go a long way to maintaining the IronPigs recovery from their abysmal April. Brian Mazone, J.A. Happ and Les Walrond have been solid in the rotation, and the IronPigs are hoping Travis Blackley comes back from his injury and builds on the outing he had the day he was hurt (five innings, one hit).

But Dave Huppert has been around long enough to know the up-and-downs that a minor league team goes through.

"You usually don't have one-through-five going well at the same time anyway," the IronPigs manager said.

For the first time in three weeks it looks like the weather won't interfere with the regular friday-night fireworks show at Coca-Cola Park. And the result should be a near-capacity crowd, the start of the team's first holiday weekend...

For the third time in 11 days the ironPigs are seeking their fourth straight win, and they're 9-4 since May 9, matching Durham for the third-best record in the International League since that date (Pawtucket 10-2, Syracuse 9-5). Amazingly, both they and the parent Phillies entered Friday's action seeking to extend their winning streaks to a season-high four games...

If you're wondering why the IronPigs are doing better, it's all in the numbers. They're hitting .269 in their last 17 games, averaging just over five runs a game. They're also hitting .303 with runners in scoring position over that span after hitting .151 in such situations over the first 31 games...

Want more? Since Jon Knott joined the team on May 2, he's combined with Mike Cervenak and Andy Tracy to hit .327 with 15 doubles, 7 homers and 48 RBIs, with a .512 slugging percentage and a .410 on-base percentage thanks to 29 walks ...

UPDATE...After 3 1/2 innings in tonight's game the ironPigs trail 3-0 on two homers by Josh Fields off Ron Chiavacci. Chiavacci, who has lost five straight decisions while giving up 27 earned runs in his last 31.2 innings, .has given up just one other hit and has struck out four in four innings without walking a batter.

For the first time in three weeks it looks like the weather won't interfere with the regular friday-night fireworks show at Coca-Cola Park. And the result should be a near-capacity crowd, the start of the team's first holiday weekend...

For the third time in 11 days the ironPigs are seeking their fourth straight win, and they're 9-4 since May 9, matching Durham for the third-best record in the International League since that date (Pawtucket 10-2, Syracuse 9-5). Amazingly, both they and the parent Phillies entered Friday's action seeking to extend their winning streaks to a season-high four games...

If you're wondering why the IronPigs are doing better, it's all in the numbers. They're hitting .269 in their last 17 games, averaging just over five runs a game. They're also hitting .303 with runners in scoring position over that span after hitting .151 in such situations over the first 31 games...

Want more? Since Jon Knott joined the team on May 2, he's combined with Mike Cervenak and Andy Tracy to hit .327 with 15 doubles, 7 homers and 48 RBIs, with a .512 slugging percentage and a .410 on-base percentage thanks to 29 walks ...

UPDATE...After 3 1/2 innings in tonight's game the ironPigs trail 3-0 on two homers by Josh Fields off Ron Chiavacci. Chiavacci, who has lost five straight decisions while giving up 27 earned runs in his last 31.2 innings, .has given up just one other hit and has struck out four in four innings without walking a batter.

Amazingly, the IronPigs suffered their first rainout Sunday at Buffalo after getting through the first 44 games of their International League season unscathed.

That's pretty amazing, considering they were in Scranton and Pawtucket in early April, Syracuse and Rochester in mid-April, and played the rest of the month in the Lehigh Valley. And we all know how nice the weather is in the Northeast in early spring...

---

I'm also a bit amazed that they managed to play nine innings on Friday night at Coca-Cola Park, after it had rained for pretty much all of the day and for much of the early game. They even managed to start the game on time.

While I'm sure it wasn't the easiest game the players ever endured, the weather didn't seem to affect the quality of play. There were no slides on the wet grass, no muddy infield to deal with.

Last fall, when the playing field was being installed, we were told the drainage system at the stadium could handle up to five inches of rain an hour and still be playable. Guess they were right.

By the way, anyone who watched the game on TV saw there were more no-shows than people in the park, despite the official announced attendance of about 7,600. Official attendance is always the number of tickets sold, and nearly every fixed seat was sold for the normal Friday nights fireworks promotion. In the interests of accurate reporting I've been waging a so-far unsuccessful campaign with team management to also announce the in-house attendance figure, as Reading does, but so far it's fallen on deaf ears.

P.S. -- a make-up date for the cancelled fireworks show will be announced in the future.

---

As of this morning there's exactly 100 games left in the season. As I said on the Morning Call Sports Wave show this morning on 1320 and 1230 AM, I believe this team can play at a .500 or better clip the rest of the season, barring any major personnel losses. That would put their record somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-80 for the season. Not very impressive at first glance, but certainly better than a 4-28 start might have indicated.

A few people have mentioned to me how surprised they were to hear manager Dave Huppert mention the "P" word -- playoffs -- after Thursday's win over Norfolk. To paraphrase, he said the team's goal is still to qualify for the Governor's Cup playoffs. Asked about it the next day, Huppert's reponse was, "You've got to have some sort of goal, don't you?"

For the record, since the IL began it's three-division plus wild-card format, the wild card team has averaged 80 wins. To get to 80 wins the IronPigs would have to go 69-31 the rest of the way.

---

In case you were wondering...

After being sent back to Reading in mid-April, Michael Spidale went hitless in his first 27 at-bats before breaking the skid with a single on Thursday.

Javon Moran, hitting .183 when he was returned to Reading on May 2 when the Phillies acquired Jon Knott and assigned him to the IronPigs, was hitting .446 through Friday since returning to the Eastern League, raising his average to .303.

Tim Gradville was traded to Texas last week for a player to be named later and was assigned to the Rangers' Double-A roster at Frisco, Texas. Not only that, he had two singles in his first start for the RoughRiders.

And Valentino Pascucci is enjoying life back in the Pacific Coast League, where breaking balls don't break as much and balls travel farther in the light air. Playing for the Mets' affiliate at New Orleans, Pascucci was hitting .311 in his first 12 games with five doubles, five homers and 13 RBIs.

Amazingly, the IronPigs suffered their first rainout Sunday at Buffalo after getting through the first 44 games of their International League season unscathed.

That's pretty amazing, considering they were in Scranton and Pawtucket in early April, Syracuse and Rochester in mid-April, and played the rest of the month in the Lehigh Valley. And we all know how nice the weather is in the Northeast in early spring...

---

I'm also a bit amazed that they managed to play nine innings on Friday night at Coca-Cola Park, after it had rained for pretty much all of the day and for much of the early game. They even managed to start the game on time.

While I'm sure it wasn't the easiest game the players ever endured, the weather didn't seem to affect the quality of play. There were no slides on the wet grass, no muddy infield to deal with.

Last fall, when the playing field was being installed, we were told the drainage system at the stadium could handle up to five inches of rain an hour and still be playable. Guess they were right.

By the way, anyone who watched the game on TV saw there were more no-shows than people in the park, despite the official announced attendance of about 7,600. Official attendance is always the number of tickets sold, and nearly every fixed seat was sold for the normal Friday nights fireworks promotion. In the interests of accurate reporting I've been waging a so-far unsuccessful campaign with team management to also announce the in-house attendance figure, as Reading does, but so far it's fallen on deaf ears.

P.S. -- a make-up date for the cancelled fireworks show will be announced in the future.

---

As of this morning there's exactly 100 games left in the season. As I said on the Morning Call Sports Wave show this morning on 1320 and 1230 AM, I believe this team can play at a .500 or better clip the rest of the season, barring any major personnel losses. That would put their record somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-80 for the season. Not very impressive at first glance, but certainly better than a 4-28 start might have indicated.

A few people have mentioned to me how surprised they were to hear manager Dave Huppert mention the "P" word -- playoffs -- after Thursday's win over Norfolk. To paraphrase, he said the team's goal is still to qualify for the Governor's Cup playoffs. Asked about it the next day, Huppert's reponse was, "You've got to have some sort of goal, don't you?"

For the record, since the IL began it's three-division plus wild-card format, the wild card team has averaged 80 wins. To get to 80 wins the IronPigs would have to go 69-31 the rest of the way.

---

In case you were wondering...

After being sent back to Reading in mid-April, Michael Spidale went hitless in his first 27 at-bats before breaking the skid with a single on Thursday.

Javon Moran, hitting .183 when he was returned to Reading on May 2 when the Phillies acquired Jon Knott and assigned him to the IronPigs, was hitting .446 through Friday since returning to the Eastern League, raising his average to .303.

Tim Gradville was traded to Texas last week for a player to be named later and was assigned to the Rangers' Double-A roster at Frisco, Texas. Not only that, he had two singles in his first start for the RoughRiders.

And Valentino Pascucci is enjoying life back in the Pacific Coast League, where breaking balls don't break as much and balls travel farther in the light air. Playing for the Mets' affiliate at New Orleans, Pascucci was hitting .311 in his first 12 games with five doubles, five homers and 13 RBIs.

If you haven't been to Coca-Cola Park since the first home stand, you might have a tough time recognizing the new tenants.

Suddenly the IronPigs have become a respectable Triple-A baseball team.

I hesitate to say they've become a "competitive" Triple-A team, because truth be told, they've been competitive in almost every game they've played this year. It's just that in the last two weeks they've begun to make their record respectable after that abysmal 4-28 start.

Over the last 11 starts IronPigs starters have a comined 3.54 ERA, allowing 50 hits and walking just 21 in 56 innings. And that includes a three-inning, six-hit, five-run outing from the departed Kevin Beirne, and a 3.2-inning, seven-hit, four earned run outing from Ron Chiavacci.

Right now you should feel fairly confident anytime J.A. Happ, Brian Mazone and Les Walrond takes the mound. And if Travis Blackley returns (he's expected back sometime in the next 10 days) anything close to the form he showed in the April 27 outing when he suffered his injury (5 innings, 1 hit, 1 run), you can add his name to the list.

That leaves Chiavacci, who has struggled after an impressive first three starts, first due to the affects of the flu, and in his last start with a lack of command. If he rights the ship soon, the rotation appears solid.

The addition of Jon Knott and Rich Thompson has given the lineup more punch than it had (Knott) and more athleticism (Thompson). The IronPigs have scored 54 runs in their 13 games this month -- not overwhelming, but a far cry better than those dismal April days. They're taking much better advantage of their opportunities, and the result is a team that's much more entertaining to watch.

Thompson and Knott, along with infielders Mike Rouse and Oscar Robles, have also helped improve the defense.

In all, a seemingly dismal season suddenly seems a bit brighter. It's not going to produce a championship team, but at least the Coke bottle at the park shouldn't go rusty from non-use.

If you haven't been to Coca-Cola Park since the first home stand, you might have a tough time recognizing the new tenants.

Suddenly the IronPigs have become a respectable Triple-A baseball team.

I hesitate to say they've become a "competitive" Triple-A team, because truth be told, they've been competitive in almost every game they've played this year. It's just that in the last two weeks they've begun to make their record respectable after that abysmal 4-28 start.

Over the last 11 starts IronPigs starters have a comined 3.54 ERA, allowing 50 hits and walking just 21 in 56 innings. And that includes a three-inning, six-hit, five-run outing from the departed Kevin Beirne, and a 3.2-inning, seven-hit, four earned run outing from Ron Chiavacci.

Right now you should feel fairly confident anytime J.A. Happ, Brian Mazone and Les Walrond takes the mound. And if Travis Blackley returns (he's expected back sometime in the next 10 days) anything close to the form he showed in the April 27 outing when he suffered his injury (5 innings, 1 hit, 1 run), you can add his name to the list.

That leaves Chiavacci, who has struggled after an impressive first three starts, first due to the affects of the flu, and in his last start with a lack of command. If he rights the ship soon, the rotation appears solid.

The addition of Jon Knott and Rich Thompson has given the lineup more punch than it had (Knott) and more athleticism (Thompson). The IronPigs have scored 54 runs in their 13 games this month -- not overwhelming, but a far cry better than those dismal April days. They're taking much better advantage of their opportunities, and the result is a team that's much more entertaining to watch.

Thompson and Knott, along with infielders Mike Rouse and Oscar Robles, have also helped improve the defense.

In all, a seemingly dismal season suddenly seems a bit brighter. It's not going to produce a championship team, but at least the Coke bottle at the park shouldn't go rusty from non-use.

What a performance by J.A. Happ tonight -- 7 innings, 4 hits, a run, two walks and a club-record 13 strikeouts. It's what we've come to expect from the left hander recently. Only thing lacking was the win, unfortunately, after closer Matt Childers blew the save, although the IronPigs later pulled out their first extra-inning victory in franchise history.

Happ has no victories to show for a brilliant four-game stretch -- 27 innings, 14 hits, 3 runs (2 earned for an 0.67 ERA), 9 BB and 31 Ks. He left with the lead in three of the four games, and trailing 1-0 in the fourth.

Happ's won-loss record might be 0-4, but you can bet the Phillies brass are looking at his other numbers, which include 34 hits allowed and 55 Ks in 46 1/3 innings.

---

Jon Knott continues to be a much-needed find for the IronPigs ever since his contract was purchased off the Rochester roster from Minnesota. Knott delivered the game-winning homer tonight (I refuse to use the "w-o" phrase popularized by the gimmick-crazy folks at ESPN) and so far is 11-27 (.407) with a couple of home runs in an IronPigs uniform.

---

I have to backtrack slightly from something I wrote from Toledo last week. While I still believe that, if the IronPigs remain far out of playoff contention in the International League while Reading remains in the Eastern League hunt, the young talent at Reading will stay there to go through a playoff chase, Phillies minor league farm director Steve Noworyta didn't rule out the arrival of some of those younger players at Coca-Cola Park later this season. Noworyta is impressed with the professionalism and dedication that the current IronPigs veterans have shown during this miserable first five weeks, and believes those veterans could be a positive influence on the younger players.

---

It's no surprise the IronPigs are playing better since the arrival of newcomers such as Knott, Rich Thompson, and Oscar Robles, manager Dave Huppert said Thursday afternoon in Toledo. "They weren't here during those first few weeks and have brought a fresh attitude in," he said. "For them it's like starting a season over."

---

Gotta' give Mike Drago, the Reading Phillies beat writer for the Reading Eagle, credit for coming up with a few "Mazone-isms" in the same mold as the old "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" days of the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s. Mazone owns four of the IronPigs six wins.

What a performance by J.A. Happ tonight -- 7 innings, 4 hits, a run, two walks and a club-record 13 strikeouts. It's what we've come to expect from the left hander recently. Only thing lacking was the win, unfortunately, after closer Matt Childers blew the save, although the IronPigs later pulled out their first extra-inning victory in franchise history.

Happ has no victories to show for a brilliant four-game stretch -- 27 innings, 14 hits, 3 runs (2 earned for an 0.67 ERA), 9 BB and 31 Ks. He left with the lead in three of the four games, and trailing 1-0 in the fourth.

Happ's won-loss record might be 0-4, but you can bet the Phillies brass are looking at his other numbers, which include 34 hits allowed and 55 Ks in 46 1/3 innings.

---

Jon Knott continues to be a much-needed find for the IronPigs ever since his contract was purchased off the Rochester roster from Minnesota. Knott delivered the game-winning homer tonight (I refuse to use the "w-o" phrase popularized by the gimmick-crazy folks at ESPN) and so far is 11-27 (.407) with a couple of home runs in an IronPigs uniform.

---

I have to backtrack slightly from something I wrote from Toledo last week. While I still believe that, if the IronPigs remain far out of playoff contention in the International League while Reading remains in the Eastern League hunt, the young talent at Reading will stay there to go through a playoff chase, Phillies minor league farm director Steve Noworyta didn't rule out the arrival of some of those younger players at Coca-Cola Park later this season. Noworyta is impressed with the professionalism and dedication that the current IronPigs veterans have shown during this miserable first five weeks, and believes those veterans could be a positive influence on the younger players.

---

It's no surprise the IronPigs are playing better since the arrival of newcomers such as Knott, Rich Thompson, and Oscar Robles, manager Dave Huppert said Thursday afternoon in Toledo. "They weren't here during those first few weeks and have brought a fresh attitude in," he said. "For them it's like starting a season over."

---

Gotta' give Mike Drago, the Reading Phillies beat writer for the Reading Eagle, credit for coming up with a few "Mazone-isms" in the same mold as the old "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" days of the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s. Mazone owns four of the IronPigs six wins.

When you're on the road your laptop becomes your lifeline, and you don't realize how much you depend on it until it goes down. That's what happened to me last Friday night in Columbus, when my keyboard crashed. Since it was a weekend I was unable to get any sort of relief until Monday, when the office overnighted a new lap top to me for delivery this morning in Toledo (of course I still have to perform a hard-drive transplant, which, given my lack of mechanical expertise that my wife will surely attest to, was no easy feat). But now I'm back on line, and thanks to the help of the public relations department in Columbus and Toledo (and the winningness of a few of our staffers to take dictation), I was able to get stories filed for the daily paper.

Now, on to other things...

---

The frustration continues for this team. After a good start to the road trip last Thursday they're back to spinning their wheels. They dropped tough one-run decisions Friday and Saturday, and Sunday squandered yet another strong outing from J.A. Happ. Their bats woke up late in Monday's game but by that point they were trying to crawl out of a 7-0 hole.

Phillies minor league director Steve Noworyta popped into town Monday (no, he didn't bring a dinner spread with him). He's just as puzzled about the state of this team as anyone, and while any thoughts of a championship or playoff appearance are long gone, he still maintains his belief and confidence that this team can recover and put together an entertaining and competitive year the rest of the season. He also reaffirmed that help from Reading isn't on the horizon, since some of the young prospects on the R-Phils are still making the adjustment to Double-A ball.

Unspoken in our conversation was the thought that if the R-Phils remain in the Eastern League race the Phillies may just elect to keep the youngsters down there to let them play for something beyond their personal stats.

Actually, the IronPigs did get a player from Reading today, lefty reliever R.J. Swindle, whose opportunities at Reading diminished when Fabio Castro and Josh Outman were put in the bullpen. According to Noworyta, the 24-year-old Noworyta isn't going to dazzle anyone with his raw talent, but all he does is get people out. At Reading Swindle has allowed just eight hits in 16.2 innings, holding opponents to a .143 average while compiling an 0.54 ERA. Even more amazingly, Swindle has struck out 16 while walking just one -- intentionally -- at Reading and in his pro career has walked just 55 batters and struck out 292 in 300 innings,

Here's Swindle's career numbers year-by-year:2004: 5-1, 1.94 at Lowell (A) after being drafted on the 14th round, then released by Boston the following spring2005: 6-4, 3.27 at independent Schaumburg2006: 2-2, 3.41 at Schaumburg, signed by Yankees in June, then 4-2, 0.61 in 21 games at Charleston and a save and two scoreless innings at Columbus but released the following spring.2007: 1-0, 1.93 in nine games at Newark, signed by Phillies in late May; 2-1, 0.93 with 10 saves in 20 games at Lakewood, then 0-1, 4.80 in 12 games at Clearwater

To make room, Jason Anderson was sent back to Reading.

---

A few words about Fifth Third Field, which I can look into from my hotel room window...

It's an absolutely beautiful facility, built seven years ago in the city's warehouse district on the fringe of downtown, within walking distance of some of the downtown office buildings. It takes up two city blocks but blends in well with the surrounds; the playing field is about 25 feet or so below street level. Huron Street, a main East-West thoroughfare in the city which runs behind the left field fence, is easily within distance for right handed hitters.

The dimensions are asymetrical and the architects paid homage to two parks of old, including Tiger Stadium in nearby Detroit. Like Tiger Stadium, there's a porch that overhangs right field that provides seating for an adjacent picnic area, and there's also a niche in straight away center field that extends an extra 10 feet or so beyond what would be the normal outfield fence that reminds old time fans of the Polo Grounds in New York. (That niche cost Brennan King an extra base hit, possibly a two-run home run, Monday night when he crushed a ball run down by the Mud Hen center fielder in that area). they also borrowed from the new retro parks -- the team offices are in an attached converted warehouse down the right field line, very similar to Camden Yards.

Restaurants and sports bars have popped up in the surrounding neighborhood, including an outlet of Packos, the local hot-dog eatery made famous by Toledo native Jamie Farr on M*A*S*H*. (The Hungarian dogs are, as Max Klinger promised, a delicacy).

In short, Fifth Third Field is exactly what Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski wanted Coca-Cola Park to be --- if there was a location in the downtown Allentown area to put it.

When you're on the road your laptop becomes your lifeline, and you don't realize how much you depend on it until it goes down. That's what happened to me last Friday night in Columbus, when my keyboard crashed. Since it was a weekend I was unable to get any sort of relief until Monday, when the office overnighted a new lap top to me for delivery this morning in Toledo (of course I still have to perform a hard-drive transplant, which, given my lack of mechanical expertise that my wife will surely attest to, was no easy feat). But now I'm back on line, and thanks to the help of the public relations department in Columbus and Toledo (and the winningness of a few of our staffers to take dictation), I was able to get stories filed for the daily paper.

Now, on to other things...

---

The frustration continues for this team. After a good start to the road trip last Thursday they're back to spinning their wheels. They dropped tough one-run decisions Friday and Saturday, and Sunday squandered yet another strong outing from J.A. Happ. Their bats woke up late in Monday's game but by that point they were trying to crawl out of a 7-0 hole.

Phillies minor league director Steve Noworyta popped into town Monday (no, he didn't bring a dinner spread with him). He's just as puzzled about the state of this team as anyone, and while any thoughts of a championship or playoff appearance are long gone, he still maintains his belief and confidence that this team can recover and put together an entertaining and competitive year the rest of the season. He also reaffirmed that help from Reading isn't on the horizon, since some of the young prospects on the R-Phils are still making the adjustment to Double-A ball.

Unspoken in our conversation was the thought that if the R-Phils remain in the Eastern League race the Phillies may just elect to keep the youngsters down there to let them play for something beyond their personal stats.

Actually, the IronPigs did get a player from Reading today, lefty reliever R.J. Swindle, whose opportunities at Reading diminished when Fabio Castro and Josh Outman were put in the bullpen. According to Noworyta, the 24-year-old Noworyta isn't going to dazzle anyone with his raw talent, but all he does is get people out. At Reading Swindle has allowed just eight hits in 16.2 innings, holding opponents to a .143 average while compiling an 0.54 ERA. Even more amazingly, Swindle has struck out 16 while walking just one -- intentionally -- at Reading and in his pro career has walked just 55 batters and struck out 292 in 300 innings,

Here's Swindle's career numbers year-by-year:2004: 5-1, 1.94 at Lowell (A) after being drafted on the 14th round, then released by Boston the following spring2005: 6-4, 3.27 at independent Schaumburg2006: 2-2, 3.41 at Schaumburg, signed by Yankees in June, then 4-2, 0.61 in 21 games at Charleston and a save and two scoreless innings at Columbus but released the following spring.2007: 1-0, 1.93 in nine games at Newark, signed by Phillies in late May; 2-1, 0.93 with 10 saves in 20 games at Lakewood, then 0-1, 4.80 in 12 games at Clearwater

To make room, Jason Anderson was sent back to Reading.

---

A few words about Fifth Third Field, which I can look into from my hotel room window...

It's an absolutely beautiful facility, built seven years ago in the city's warehouse district on the fringe of downtown, within walking distance of some of the downtown office buildings. It takes up two city blocks but blends in well with the surrounds; the playing field is about 25 feet or so below street level. Huron Street, a main East-West thoroughfare in the city which runs behind the left field fence, is easily within distance for right handed hitters.

The dimensions are asymetrical and the architects paid homage to two parks of old, including Tiger Stadium in nearby Detroit. Like Tiger Stadium, there's a porch that overhangs right field that provides seating for an adjacent picnic area, and there's also a niche in straight away center field that extends an extra 10 feet or so beyond what would be the normal outfield fence that reminds old time fans of the Polo Grounds in New York. (That niche cost Brennan King an extra base hit, possibly a two-run home run, Monday night when he crushed a ball run down by the Mud Hen center fielder in that area). they also borrowed from the new retro parks -- the team offices are in an attached converted warehouse down the right field line, very similar to Camden Yards.

Restaurants and sports bars have popped up in the surrounding neighborhood, including an outlet of Packos, the local hot-dog eatery made famous by Toledo native Jamie Farr on M*A*S*H*. (The Hungarian dogs are, as Max Klinger promised, a delicacy).

In short, Fifth Third Field is exactly what Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski wanted Coca-Cola Park to be --- if there was a location in the downtown Allentown area to put it.

Everybody knows players come and go, but it's a tough day when the players leaving are well-liked and well-respected by teammates and the coaches, and both these guys were. But it's all about the numbers in this business, especially when you're talking about players with no connection to the organization they're in and especially when your team is 20 games below .500.

Woodward, signed after the Yankees left him go at the end of spring training, never got it going offensively and hit .203 (13-for-64). The veteran utility infielder, who has nine years of major league service, was also a bit erratic in the field at times.

Darensbourg also struggled. He was 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA in nine appearances, a vast drop-off from last season when he was 6-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 50 appearances at Toledo. A lefty specialist, Darensbourg also allowed lefties to hit .412 off him during his time as an IronPig.

As for the new guys, the 32-year-old Robles was hitting .208 in 53 at-bats at Triple-A Portland when the Phillies claimed him off waivers from San Diego. But he's hit .284 and .287 the last two years in Triple-A (at Portland and Las Vegas, respectively), and the one-time third-round pick also hit .272 in 334 at-bats for the Dodgers in 2005.

The 31-year-old Walrond was 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA for Triple-A Iowa (Cubs) this year before being released but as a starter for the same team two years ago was 11-5 with a 4.77 ERA in 27 games. His overall Triple-A record is 32-19, and he also reached the big leagues for the Royals (2003) and Cubs (2006).

---

it didn't take long for Valentino Pascucci to find a job. Pascucci, released by the Phillies Monday, signed with the Mets and is back in the Pacific Coast League with New Orleans, where he's 1-for-7 with two RBIs in his first two games.

Everybody knows players come and go, but it's a tough day when the players leaving are well-liked and well-respected by teammates and the coaches, and both these guys were. But it's all about the numbers in this business, especially when you're talking about players with no connection to the organization they're in and especially when your team is 20 games below .500.

Woodward, signed after the Yankees left him go at the end of spring training, never got it going offensively and hit .203 (13-for-64). The veteran utility infielder, who has nine years of major league service, was also a bit erratic in the field at times.

Darensbourg also struggled. He was 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA in nine appearances, a vast drop-off from last season when he was 6-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 50 appearances at Toledo. A lefty specialist, Darensbourg also allowed lefties to hit .412 off him during his time as an IronPig.

As for the new guys, the 32-year-old Robles was hitting .208 in 53 at-bats at Triple-A Portland when the Phillies claimed him off waivers from San Diego. But he's hit .284 and .287 the last two years in Triple-A (at Portland and Las Vegas, respectively), and the one-time third-round pick also hit .272 in 334 at-bats for the Dodgers in 2005.

The 31-year-old Walrond was 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA for Triple-A Iowa (Cubs) this year before being released but as a starter for the same team two years ago was 11-5 with a 4.77 ERA in 27 games. His overall Triple-A record is 32-19, and he also reached the big leagues for the Royals (2003) and Cubs (2006).

---

it didn't take long for Valentino Pascucci to find a job. Pascucci, released by the Phillies Monday, signed with the Mets and is back in the Pacific Coast League with New Orleans, where he's 1-for-7 with two RBIs in his first two games.